


Bodyguard

by seaquestions



Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/F, Implied Emotional Manipulation, Rare Characters, Rare Pairings, Road Rage is a Bodyguard With A Crush and Glyph is the Squishy Scientist, Road Trips, brief panic attack, i had a lot of fun writing this!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-08-11 16:08:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20156338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seaquestions/pseuds/seaquestions
Summary: 'Cons wanted Glyph captured, apparently. Or maybe dead, eventually. Didn't matter which one. Road Rage wasn't letting either scenario happen.That was her job, of course. But she had to admit, she was starting to get a little attached.(Road Rage takes what was supposed to be a simple escort mission. But of course,nothingin life is that easy.)





	Bodyguard

**Author's Note:**

> if you clicked on this, hi! i hope you enjoy this little oneshot i cooked up today! ^-^
> 
> continuity is up to you, i wrote this w/ the idw universe in mind, but it's unimportant. glyph has a visor & mask she puts on sometimes. road rage is a bounty hunter.

The little scientist had no business being this cute, really.

Road Rage fired off another shot.

The two of them, her and Glyph, were taking cover behind a wall as a volley of shots came towards them. Rage checked her ammo. She was gonna have to make each one count.

Glyph had yelped and thrown herself behind the taller mech the second that enemies had appeared. She was curled in on herself, pressed flush against Road Rage's chassis, presumably to shield herself even more. The bounty hunter shook her head and resisted the urge to hug the minibot. Now was not the time to be distracted by a cute scientist, girl. Not when there's people goin' after ya.

'Cons wanted Glyph captured, apparently. Or maybe dead, eventually. Didn't matter which one. Road Rage wasn't letting either scenario happen.

That was her job, of course. But she had to admit, she was starting to get a little attached. 

It was supposed to be a simple escort mission, at first. Get this unassuming mech from Point A to Point B. Easy. And then her ship crashed on their way to Kimia. Kind of embarrassing, really, 'cause it was supposed to be top-notch. But she could fix it, no problem.

…Except she couldn't. 

And it became very clear, when she heard gunfire and a high-pitched scream coming from inside, that it was _sabotage_.

That was how their journey began. Together, they stole an old salvage ship and hopped their way from planet to planet, evading 'cons and bounty hunters along the way. She also got to know Glyph a little better too.

The minibot was mostly a researcher, yes. Archaeometry and data analysis. She loved alien culture, loved to stop and take samples of Primus-knows-what, and did everything in this slow, methodical way. She was stubborn, awkward, and yet utterly charming. Awful at combat, the scientist mostly relied on others to fight for her, though Glyph said that her overprotective brother was partially to blame. He didn't want her anywhere near the battlefield. So all in all, she was pretty harmless.

Except that she was also one of the few Autobots who possessed the skill to unravel one Soundwave's plans before it even happened. So she had to be taken care of.

Her vulnerability and relative unimportance made her an easy target. No need to deal with it personally. _Blaster_ was a large mech, with heavy plating and a crew of cassettes prowling around. Glyph was just a tiny little car. How hard could it be for some grunt to capture or kill her?

Road Rage reloaded her weapon, peeked around the wall and shot another mech in the head. Didn't matter. She was gonna _make_ it hard.

She was getting impatient, though. They needed to move from their spot. Plus, that old glitch was acting up and she was feeling the itch to transform again.

Then, she felt a tug on her arm.

“Here. Throw this.”

Something was shoved into Road Rage's hand. It was…

“Wha-When did you get this bomb?!”

“I made it,” Glyph said, slowly, as if she was explaining to an idiot. “It's highly toxic, so we better run fast once it's thrown. I already deactivated your mode lock.”

A flurry of questions stormed through Rage's processor before it cleared. She nodded. Now was not the time.

Quickly, she subspaced her gun and pulled Glyph onto her back with practiced ease, ignoring the way the minibot's servos scrabbled against her cables for purchase. The makeshift chemical bomb felt light in her hand. 

“Hold on tight.”

Engines revving, she rounded the corner with Glyph clinging onto her back kibble, threw the bomb in the middle of the room and activated her transformation sequence. Plates sliding into place, she gunned it, running over a few bodies along the way, and leaving the smoke behind.

“Turn left!” Glyph's voice rang from above her, slightly muffled. She probably put her facemask on.

Road Rage growled. Her mind was barely there, but all she had to do was focus on Glyph's voice. “Got it!”

Thanks to the minibot's directions (how'd she know where to go though?), the bounty hunter weaved her way through the complex, running over more guards than was necessary, and out into the desert world that was Sonacron V. 

“Road Rage. _Road Rage!_ Turn on your signature dampener!”

“Huh?!” She snapped out. Dust billowed around her. She could feel the uneven ground beneath her tires. The sun was down and the air was cold. There was nothing for miles.

“Your signal dampener!” Glyph yelled, smacking the roof of Rage's alt.

_Oh_. “Ffffrag! Right, right!”

Hazily, Road Rage brought up the command to mask her signature—and let the cloaking field extend outwards to hide Glyph's as well. Thankfully, she didn't really have to pay much attention to the open road.

She could feel the minibot physically relax at the now dulled edge of her field. Road Rage felt her processor clear, just a little bit.

“Okay. Let's stop for a klik,” Glyph said.

The bounty hunter slowed to a halt and activated her transformation sequence again, tires lifting up and being replaced by her aft as she unceremoniously sat down on the reddish soil. She blinked and blinked again, ventilations uneven, trying desperately to stabilize. The glitch. It was getting worse. All her meds were back in her ship, the _Justiciar_, the one that crashed. She'd have to get new ones, but they don't sell Cybertronian drugs at any old asteroid rest-stop! Not _those_ kinda drugs, at least…

Slowly, she came to. Soft, soothing waves of reassurance washed over her and a small hand rested gently but solidly over her forearm.

“Oh, Primus in the Pits,” Rage breathed out.

Glyph's optics lit up. The minibot had removed her visor and mask. “How are you doing?” she asked.

“Hah. Fine, I guess,” Road Rage said, scratching the back of her helm sheepishly, “Just kind of embarrassing.”

The scientist flashed a wry smile, “Hey. I get it. I once had a meltdown in the middle of a presentation, back when I was studying at the IAST.”

Road Rage huffed. “Iacon? That's pretty damn prestigious. Were you rich or something?”

Glyph shook her head. “Got a scolarship. Doesn't matter though, 'cause I never got to graduate.”

“Huh.”

The two of them took a moment to sit in silence. It was dark and cold, and with no landmarks in sight. The Decepticon base they were held in wasn't even a speck on the horizon. Road Rage took all of this in with a strange calmness. It wasn't the first time she'd been stranded, but she wasn't sure what to do right now. And Glyph…

She blinked. Glyph's mode lock was still on her back.

Road Rage shuffled closer. Glyph flinched, apparently having been in deep concentration about something.

“Woah, hey.” Rage held her arms up reflexively. “I just noticed you didn't deactivate your mode lock. Need me to pull it off for you?”

“Oh. I didn't… I forgot about it?”

That didn't sound very convincing. “You forgot about the very uncomfortable transformation inhibitor claw stuck onto your back.”

Glyph pouted. “I was thinking about more important things! Like how to get out of here.”

Road Rage reached around her to yank the device off. “How's that going by the way? 'Cause I've got nothing at the moment.”

“Well…”

It turned out that Glyph had sneakily downloaded a few files from the base. She got the floor map pretty easily, but it took some time to open the rest. 

Looking over them, they found out where exactly the Decepticons kept their transport ships: in another building, a megamile away from the base. The base itself had emergency exit shuttles, but the two of them probably couldn't have gone to the hangar from the brig before they got caught.

“So that's the plan. We drive to Building B and hijack a transport.”

Glyph nodded, shakily. They've traveled together for a while, but she would most likely never become accustomed to this kind of lifestyle. In contrast, Road Rage stole ships all the damn time.

The minibot looked up at her. “Are you all good on fuel? I have some in my subspace.”

“Eh. I'm at 50%.”

A cube was shoved into Rage's hand.

“Here. You need it more than me. If I pass out, you can always just carry me out, right?” Glyph joked.

“Mm. Yep.” Road Rage started drinking half the cube. She most certainly did not think about carrying the little scientist in her arms while escaping from mortal danger.

Oh, those old fantasies. (Did she have a hero complex? What exactly _is_ a hero complex anyway?)

“After this, where are we goin' next?” she asked, in between sips.

The scientist stilled. 

“…Ferromax.” she said.

Road Rage spat out her mouthful of energon. “Ferromax?!”

Ferromax was a Decepticon prison camp. That much should be enough to deter you from going anywhere near it. It also had a reputation of taking its prisoners and making them fight for entertainment, thus earning its nickname of “The Grease Pit.”

Rage's engine sputtered. “But that's—! That's where…”

…That was where Tap-Out, Glyph's brother, was being held. 

The minibot had told her this before. It was the reason why Road Rage was hired at all. Normally, Tap-Out would be the one to accompany his sister.

And all of a sudden, it hit her. The path they had been taking this whole time, the planets they hopped to and from, were they ever really headed in the direction of the Kimia Facility? Had they, in fact, been on the road to Ferromax this whole time? No, no, she thought as she checked her map, they _were_ headed towards Kimia.

But Ferromax was on the way.

“Road Rage,” Glyph whispered. “Will you help me?” 

She looked into those bright blue optics. She thought about whether this was the plan all along, or if Glyph had just seized the opportunity when it came. The crash, her _Justiciar_, did Glyph know? Or was it just chance? She thought about whether the Autobot higher-ups knew about any of this. Probably not.

She thought about whether Glyph thought of her as an ally or as a means. All of their previous interactions, recontextualized. Those sad baby blue optics looked straight into her spark and held it in a vice. Had she been manipulated into this?

But Glyph just wanted to save her brother. And Road Rage wanted to save people in general, though these days, life was mostly just about roaming around various galaxies, taking odd jobs and getting drunk at alien bars. She liked being around a fellow Cybertronian for once. She liked listening to Glyph talk about scientific notions beyond her processing capabilities. And if the only company she could get was that of a highly intelligent minibot who was possibly-manipulative, possibly-not, but definitely-not-a-bad-person…

Ah, who cares? She was _already_ too attached.

“C’mon now,” Road Rage smiled, just a touch manic, just a touch lovestruck. “Of course I will.”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for readin' ! ✌
> 
> i hope to write more one-shots about these lesser-known tfs. if i do, i'll compile them into a series.


End file.
